Garza Blanca Preserve Resort and Spa

The location, view, amenities and staff of this resort were incredible! It is located in the south end of the Banderas Bay (Puerta Vallarta, Jalesco). The grounds are gorgeous, the food was delicious (you have to try the bluecheese burger at the pool, my wife and I shared at least 4 while there) and the Garza Blue restaraunt on the hill was delicious and still very reasonable and had a beautiful view of the bay (we had the steak and shrimp). Every sunset there was amazing!! They have a very fun and friendly staff with one of the main concierge gal (Samantha) is from the states and can help you (in the best english lol) with anything you need. They exchange you money for you at the current rate and did so pleasantly. It is right on the beach and they provide food and beverage service there as well. It is about a 40 minute taxi ride to the airport which costs 200 pesos ($16) and was totally worth being just a little bit away from the heart of the city (we actually like being that 10 minutes out of the city stay). All in all we loved our 10 day stay there!!!

10-15min drive from town, but the hotel offers a complimentary shuttle service. 3 restaurants on site, good (not excellent) food. Rooms were immaculate with a walk in closet so you can unpack and not have to live out of a suitcase. Made it feel more like home. Poolside was relaxing but sometimes fulls, however everyone had the same agenda . . . doing nothing, and the staff was attentive and did their best in allowing this. Easy to book tours right at the hotel.

This was my 2nd time at the resort and once again everything was great. The staff is very friendly and the amenities and cleanliness at the resort can't be beat. I'm sure if I go back, this is where I'll stay.

We didn't leave the hotel. Food and Drinks pricing was fair enough to stay at the resort the whole time.

Great Hotel, nice, clean, romantic with a private beach. The food at the hotel was delicious.

The setting is spectacular. The staff are very welcoming and friendly. The resort provides an intimate and relaxing atmosphere.

This hotel has it all if you just want to get-away and stay by the pool and hear the ocean waves crash. The staff is friendly, but not intrusive. The rooms are spacious and every room has an ocean view. We stayed at the Marriott and at a house for a week and this was our favorite space. The little touches were a plus... landscaping, eternity pool, thick towels, and fire-pit by the plunge pool at night made our stay special. The only down side was we were outside the downtown area, but it is a short cab away (5 min).

This resort was OK by PV standards, but it is not a 5 star property. The rooms were OK, nothing special. The pool area was just OK - too many kids, and pools were small. The beach was OK - but too many locals used it. And too many hotel guests practiced "chair saving" at the beach and pool - something I really dislike, but happens a lot in Mexican resorts. The location of the resort was good as a taxi ride to and from downtown was $10 USD each way. Tip - the hotel has a free shuttle to the downtown area at certain times so you should check with the bellman for the schedule.

Garza Blanca is extremely beautiful and the rooms are wonderful with large balconies, a hammock and jacuzzi. The food was decent, the drinks fantastic (try the cucumber jalapeño margarita. We found service to be quite good, anything we asked for we received and the wait, pool and bell staff was extremely friendly and willing to assist with anything you needed. The ceviche and the fajitas at the pool were quite good. The food service is quite slow but we just knew to expect that. We had dinner at Blanca Blue one night it was so-so. We did the all inclusive which was a great value even with us going to town for dinners. The location is remote in that you cannot walk to any type of store and there is not one at the property so it is a good idea to have the taxi stop on your way to the hotel if you want to pick anything up. There is road noise but with all of the water features in the pools and the surf it was not that noticeable. We would return.

Everything makes this place the perfect place for a relaxing vacation. The only issue we saw was the fact that we had to correct errors each time we tried to take advantage of their specials. Happy hour 2 for 1 drinks from 6:00p-7:00pm or free soup one evening. It was annoying to have to ask, and once we got refused the special as it was 7:03pm when we received our bill, that day the computer cashier was acting up and still they refused to give us the 2 for 1 special. The whole uneasiness around the specials did alter the beautiful stay. We chose to not use the specials after the 3rd day as we got bothered by the whole situation. This is not a cheap place to stay, but it is all worth it, the view, the food quality, the rooms are great, everything makes for a luxury place except the customer service when you have a problem. If you are easy people this is a more than OK place to go.